Batteries & Hovercraft




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Broad Question: Which brand of battery makes the hovercraft go the fastest?


Specific Question:What brand of triple A battery makes the hovercraft go the fastest.

Variables

Independent Variable: Batteries

Dependent Variable: Speed of hovercraft


Variables That Need To Be Controlled: Battery change



Hypothesis

I think that the energizer triple A battery well make the hovercraft go the fastest.


detailed procedure

  1. I need to put the 2 bottles into the hovercraft structure
  2. put one brand of triple A batteries in the electric fan
  3. put about 13 to 14 cm of water in the bathtub
  4. set stopwatch
  5. turn hovercraft on and put it in the bathtub
  6. start stopwatch
  7. when the hovercraft gets to the other side of bathtub stop the stopwatch
  8. write down the amount of time it took
  9. repeat steps 2,4,5,6,7,and 8 for 2 more trials
  10. repeat steps 2,4,5,6,7,8,and nine for three trials Each battery brand








general plan

  1. I need to put the 2 bottles into the hovercraft structure
  2. put one brand of triple A batteries in the electric fan
  3. put about 13 to 14 cm of water in the bathtub
  4. set stopwatch
  5. turn hovercraft on and put it in the bathtub
  6. start stopwatch
  7. when the hovercraft gets to the other side of bathtub stop the stopwatch
  8. write down the amount of time it took
  9. repeat steps 2,4,5,6,7,and 8 for 2 more trials
  10. repeat steps 2,4,5,6,7,8,and nine for three trials Each battery brand
I am going to conduct my experiment in my bathroom, because my hover craft is going to float across the bathtub at hopefully different speeds with different batteries. I only need one person to conduct my experiment which is me because I do not need anyone’s help unless I need help building my hovercraft. I will conduct three different trials for the three brands of batteries I have (Duracell, energizer, and store brand) I thick three trials is also enough trials to get a reliable conclusion. I will record my data while I am doing my experiment on a spreadsheet printed off the computer. What I am going to do is first put one brand of batteries into the hovercraft and see how long it takes to cross the length of the bathtub, write down the time on the spreadsheet the length and how long it took to cross the bathtub. Then I will repeat that step another 2 times for that battery brand then move on to the next 2 brands and do 3 trials for each of the batteries.

store brand batteries, Duracell, and energizer

  1. a spreadsheet
  2. pencil
  3. ruler
  4. 2 bottles
  5. hovercraft structure
  6. digital camera
  7. water
  8. stopwatch




Background Research


1. Source: The New Book of POPULAR SCIENCE. 2006. Print.

1. Information: like a hovercraft another name for one is an ACV these types of vehicles are used for rides in lakes and bays in cities and towns. A hover craft is a vehicle that has a cushion full of air under the structure of where you would steer the vehicle. There is a skirt that goes over the cushion also.
The new book of popular science earth sciences, energy, environmental sciences, index..Danbury,Conn.: Grolier, 2006. Print.
2. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercraft

2. Information: The hover craft is used for the world’s specialized transports. They are also used after natural disasters for emergency purposes. A hover craft is also a craft that can travel over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving air. There is some small hover crafts used for sport and for rides, for the passengers to ride in. The big hovercrafts are used for mostly for military uses.
developed, the early 1970s the basic concept had been well, the hovercraft had found a number of niche roles where its combination of features were advantageous. Today they are found primarily in military use for amphibious operations, search, rescue vehicles in shallow water, and sporting vehicles.. "Hovercraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercraft>.
3. Source: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blhovercraft.htm

3. Information: The hover craft was invented in 1956 by Christopher Cockerell. His idea was to build a vehicle on a layer of air. The hover craft was also was the most successful invention in the 20th century. The hover crafts layer of air between the vehicle and the water is supposed reduce the friction between them.
Bellis, Mary. "The History of the Hovercraft - Christopher Cockerell." Inventors. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blhovercraft.htm>.
4. Source: http://www.peterboroughhovercraft.com/

4. Information: You can take rides on certain hover crafts in places in the country. The hovercraft this site uses is a slider hovercraft. There hovercraft does rides in small lakes, and in high school football field.
"PeterboroughHovercraft - Hovercraft Rides in PeterboroughOntarioCanada." Peterborough Hovercraft - Hovercraft Rides in Peterborough Ontario Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://www.peterboroughhovercraft.com

References


The New Book of POPULAR
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blhovercraft.htm
//www.peterboroughhovercraft.com/






data table


Duracell
enegizer
store brand
Trial 1
2:44
3.97
3.85
Trial 2
2:97
3.86
4.63
Trial 3
3:07
3.37
4.86
Avg. Time
2.827
3.73
4.447


Graphs





Photos







Data Analysis


Conclusion

The original purpose of my experiment was to figure out which battery out of Duracell, Energizer, and Rayovac, make my hovercraft go the fastest. The results of my experiment was that the Duracell battery made the hovercraft go the fastest,compared to all of the other batteries trials. Although the second battery to make the hovercraft go the fastest was the Energizer and the third was the Rayovac.





Discussion

My hypothesis was incorrect, it turns out that the Duracell battery made the hovercraft go the fastest, so my results did not support my hypothesis. there wasn't and relationship between my independent and my independent variables either. There are no patterns shown in my data, because for each trial for each battery type each time was different. Some of the times the trial result was close but not exact. My experiment went smoothly with a couple minor problems. The actual experiment went smoothly but I had a couple problems. the directions for the hovercraft were not very clear. Also some of the trials when i set up the hovercraft at where it would start it would turn and hit the wall, so that trial would taken longer. Although if I could improve the experiment, I would by using a bigger area to conduct my experiment. I would also use more then three different batteries and more trials.